Centrifugally discharging scoop shovel assembly

ABSTRACT

A scoop shovel assembly having a rotatable arm carrying shovels at the opposite ends thereof. Each shovel has a pivotable bottom wall held in the closed position by a resilient latch member. Means are provided on the shovel for disabling each latch member at a predetermined point in the path of rotation of the associated shovel enabling the bottomwall to swing open by centrifugal forces.

Halted States Patent 1 1 Neal 1 1 May 8, 1973 [54] CENTRIFUGALLYDISCHARGING SCOOP SHOVEL ASSEMBLY [76] Inventor: Frank C. Neal, 14Lincoln St., Cattaraugus, NY. 14719 [22] Filed: Apr. 21,1971

[21] Appl. No.: 136,028

[52] US. Cl. ..37/91, 37/189,198/143 [51] int. C1. ..E02f 5/08 [58]Field of Search .37 91-97, 189, 190; 198/143 [56] References CitedUNITED STATES PATENTS 853,985 5/1907 Linga ..37/94 387,649 8/1888Lockwood, ....l98/143 708,583 9/1902 Powell 1 ..37/70 953,226 3/1910Pontius ..37/95 1,083,897 1/1914 Lee ..37/96 875,789 1/1908 DcYoung, Jr1,215,791 2/1917 French 1,300,299 4/1919 Schlueter 310,063 12/1884Lawton 198/143 Primary ExaminerRobert E. Pulfrey AssistantExaminerClifford D. Crowder Attorney-Christel & Bean [57] ABSTRACT Ascoop shovel assembly having a rotatable arm carrying shovels at theopposite ends thereof. Each shovel has a pivotable bottom wall held inthe closed position by a resilient latch member. Means are provided onthe shovel for disabling each latch member at a predetermined point inthe path of rotation of the associated shovel enabling the bottomwall toswing open by centrifugal forces.

9 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEU 81975 v 3,731,408

SHEET 1 OF 2 INVENTOR.

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PATENTED 81975 3.731.408

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3 l i GING SCOOP SHOVEL ASSELY BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thisinvention relates to a scoop shovel assembly and, more particularly, toa rotatable scoop shovel assembly for use in the removal or displacementof relatively soft or loose materials.

Various types of powered shovels and scoops have been designed forexcavating purposes and for other material moving or handlingoperations. Generally, these powered shovels are very large, cumbersome,expensive and have high power requirements. Also, they often utilizesome power means for actuating a gate or closure member on the shovelfor dumping the contents thereof. While such industrial shovels aresatisfactory for large scale operations, they become impractical in manyapplications. For example, such equipment is not economically feasiblefor use by the average homeowner in performing relatively small jobs onhis property, yet he would find it desirable to utilize a relativelysmall powered shovel for use in many applications in lieu of thelaborious and time consuming task of manually using a hand shovel.

SUMMARY OF TI-IE INVENTION The rotatable scoop shovel assembly of thepresent invention, as hereinafter described, obviates the above noteddisadvantages and provides a rotatable scoop shovel assembly which issimple and strong in construction, low in cost, rugged and durable inuse, requires only a minimum of power, and which can be made relativelysmall for convenient attachment to existing equipment, such as the wellknown garden type tractor, for example.

Generally speaking, the rotatable scoop shovel assembly of the presentinvention comprises an arm mounted on a shaft for rotation therewith andextends radially in opposite directions from the shaft. The oppositeends of the arm are provided with shovels, each having a pivotablebottom portion or gate adapted to be swung outwardly relative to the armfor discharging the shovel contents by centrifugal forces. A latchmechanism is mounted on the arm for maintaining the gate closed duringthe shovel loading operation. A cam actuated means is mounted on the armfor releasing the latch mechanism during orbital movement of the shovelallowing the gate to swing open by centrifugal forces.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevational view,partly in section, of the rotatable scoop shovel assembly constructed inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the shovel assembly of FIG. 1 looking inthe direction of arrows 2-2 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an end elevational view of the shovel of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary end elevational view on an enlarged scale,showing the latch supporting means used in conjunction with thisinvention, illustrating a position of use of such supporting means;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, but showing the latch supportingmeans in an alternate position of rest; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary elevational view, on an enlarged scale andpartly in section, of the latch release means used in conjunction withthis invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT Referring now indetail to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1 a rotatable scoopshovel assembly, constructed in accordance with this invention andgenerally designated 10, comprising an elongated arm 12 rigidly securedto one end of a rotatable shaft 14 for rotation therewith. Shaft 14extends through an elongated, hollow tube 16, which constitutes a partof the rotatable scoop shovel support structure and can be detachablymounted at its remote end (not shown) to the main frame of aconventional house or garden type tractor, also not shown, or to anymobile or stationary structure adapted to move tube 16 in a desiredpath. Other support elements can include a rod 18 attached, as by meansof a fastener 20, to a lug 22 extending radially outwardly from tube 16and a chain 24 connected to an eye member 26 projecting from tube 16. Itshould be understood that rod 18 and chain 24 are illustrative only ofvarious supporting members that can be employed to support tube 16 inthe proper orientation relative to the material M to be scooped.

Shaft 14 is suitably journalled in bearings (not shown) carried by tube16 and extends through a central opening provided in arm 12. The freeend of shaft 14 is threaded for receiving a nut 30 for detachablyattaching arm 12 to shaft 14. The other end of shaft 14 is connected toa power source (not shown) for rotating shaft 14 at a predeterminedspeed.

In accordance with this invention, each opposite end of arm 12terminates in a U-shaped stirrup 32 extending outwardly at an angle tothe longitudinal axis of arm 12. Each stirrup 32 comprises an arcuatelyshaped bight portion 34 and a pair of spaced, parallel legs 36 connectedat their outer ends to the opposite ends of a cross bar 38 extendingtherebetween.

Rigidly secured to stirrup 32 as by means of welding for example, is ascoop shovel, generally designated 40, comprising a pair of spaced sidewalls 42 and a rear wall 44. For convenience of description, the end ofscoop shovel 40 attached to stirrup 32 will be taken to be the forwardend of the shovel and the terms forwardly, rearwardly and the like willbe referenced thereto. Also, the terms top, bottom, upper, lower and thelike will be referenced to shovel 40 when in its material engagingposition or the lowest position shown in phantom in FIG. 3. With this inmind, shovel 40 is provided with a bottom wall in the form of a swinginggate 46 pivotally mounted to the rear edge of cross bar 38 by means ofhinges 48 disposed along the rear edge of cross bar 38 151 48 adjacentthe opposite ends thereof. Gate 46 is slightly arcuately curved, asshown in FIG. 1, and conforms to the curvature of the lower or outeredges 50 of side walls 42. Gate 46 is provided with flanges 52 along thelateral edges thereof extending generally normal thereto in overlappingrelation with the outer edges 50 of side walls 42. The trailing edge ofgate 46 is provided with a skirt 54 terminating in a flange 56 for apurpose hereinafter explained.

Means are provided for latching said swinging gate in a closed positionduring the scooping operation, such means comprising an elongated,resiliently yieldable spring member 60 welded or otherwise fixedlysecured at one end thereof to arm 12, as shown at 62 in FIG. 1. Theother end of spring member 60 is provided with a right angularlydirected lip 64 adapted to engage behind flange 56 for latching gate 46in the closed position. The natural resiliency of spring latch member 60causes it to be urged toward rear wall 44 of shovel 40.

Rigidly secured to tube 16 and formed integral therewith is a sectionplate 66 having an arcuately shaped support ledge 68 for supporting acam 70 thereon. Cam 70 is adjustably mounted on plate 66 and to this endhas a right angularly related bracket 72 provided with a suitable slottherein in general registry with an arcuate slot 76 in plate 66 forreceiving bolts 74 therethrough. Thus, cam 70 can be angularly adjustedto the desired position by means of the bolt and slot arrangement andsecured to plate 66 in such adjusted position by tightening nuts 78 onbolts 74.

Cam 70 is generally arcuate in outline and consists of a first arcuatecam surface 80 and a second arcuate cam surface 82 having a largerradius than cam surface 80 and merging therewith at juncture 84.

Cam follower means are mounted on arm 12 for disabling or releasingspring latch member 60 in order to allow gate 46 to swing to an openposition. Such means comprises a pivotal arm 86 (FIG. 6) having a rightangularly bent portion or stub shaft 88 at one end thereof jounalled forrotation in a sleeve bearing 90 welded or otherwise fixedly secured toarm 12 adjacent one end thereof. Theother end of arm 86 is provided witha right angularly bent portion extending in the opposite direction fromportion 88 and which serves as an axle 92 on which is rotatablyjournalled a cam follower in the form of a roller 94. Shaft 88 isprovided with a cam projection 96 engagable with spring latch member 60.v A bracket 98 is mounted on the outer surface of shovel rear wall 44(FIGS. 4 and adjacent the outer end thereof by suitable fasteners, suchas screws 100. A pair of spaced flanges 102 and 104 are provided onbracket 98 and have openings for receiving a rotatable shaft 106. A stop108 extends laterally outwardly from flange 104 for a purpose that willhereinafter .be described. A radially extending projection in the formof a tab 110 is welded or otherwise fixedly secured to one end of shaft106 and projects radially therefrom. Tab 110 is provided with a flange112 extending normal to the plane of tab 110. The other end of shaft 106is provided with a projection in the form of a finger 114 fixedlysecured thereto and projecting radially therefrom in the same generaldirection as tab 110. Tab 110 and finger 114 are mounted on the oppositeends of shaft 106 exteriorly of flanges 102 and 104.

In operation, shaft 14 is rotated at a predetermined speed in acounterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 1, to rotate arm 12 andscoop shovels 40 in the same direction. With gate 46 latched closed, thevarious components of scoop shovels 40 and the latch mechanism are inthe related position shown at the right in FIG. 1. During eachrevolution, a closed shovel 40 digs into material M in the direction ofarrow A, scooping up such material in its arcuate path of movement andconveys the same upwardly whereupon roller 94 engages cam surface 80 andbears thereagainst. As roller 94 engages the high point or juncture 84of cam 70, arm 86 swings outwardly in a clockwise direction as shown inFIG. 1 to effect arcuate movement of projection 96 which bears againstand cams spring latch member 60 outwardly away from the rear wall ofshovel 40 causing lip 64 to disengage from flange 56 thereby releasinggate 46. After gate 46 is released, the centrifugal forces actingthereon causes gate 46 to swing outwardly about hinges 48 and dischargethe load by centrifugal forces in an upward radial direction asindicated by arrows B. Also, the increased clearance between springlatch member 60 and rear wall 44 enables the centrifugal forces actingon tab and finger I 14 to swing them outwardly about the pivot axisdefined by shaft 106 from the position shown in FIG. 5 to the positionshown in FIG. 4. In this latter position, tab 110 and finger 114 extendgenerally normal to rear wall 44 and are prevented from swinging beyondthis position by the engagement of finger 114 with stop 108. As roller94 rolls off cam surface 82 during rotation of arm 12, the resilientspring latch member 60, which is biased toward rear wall 44 of shovel40, will engage the end portion of finger 114 as shown at the left inFIG. 1, and will be prevented from returning to its normal position soas not to interfere with the closing of gate 46, as will hereinafterappear.

Continued revolving motion of the opened shovel 40 brings the leadingedge of cross bar 38, which also serves as the leading edge of thebottom wall of shovel 40, into scooping engagement with the material M.Just prior to cross bar 38 contacting material M, gate 46, which nowextends downwardly below bar 38, contacts material M and, due to suchimpact, is driven upwardly toward its closed position. As gate 46approaches its closed position, flange 56 thereof strikes flange 112 oftab 110 as it passes by lip 64 to pivot tab 1 10 along with finger 114to release spring latch member 60 and allow lip 64 of spring latchmember 60 to engage behind flange 56 and maintain gate 46 in the closedposition. Thus, shovel 40 is closed in readiness to receive and conveyanother load of material to repeat the above described cycle.

As shown in FIG. 3, shaft 14 is inclined downwardly relative to ahorizontal plane in order to orient arm 12 and thereby shovels 40 in aninclined plane extending at a slight angle relative to a true verticalplane. In such an orientation, shovels 40 are effective to displacematerial M laterally from its original location and away from the remoteend of shaft 14. Of course, the angular path of revolution of shovels 40relative to the material to be displaced can vary, as desired. Also, itshould be understood that any number of shovels can be employed byproviding a plurality of arms 12 on shaft 14 with each arm 12 carryingshovels 40 at the opposite ends thereof. The length of arms 12 and thesizes of shovels 40 can vary, as dictated by the specific application.

The scoop shovel of the present invention has utility in a wide varietyof applications. For example, tube 16 can be detachably mounted on themain frame of a conventional house or garden type tractor with shaft 18suitably secured to a separate power source on the tractor oroperatively connected to the tractors prime mover by suitable gearreduction means for displacing loose material ona ground surface orexcavating relatively soft earthen material. Shovel assembly 10 can beused effectively to displace snow laterally in order to clear a paththrough a snow covered area. Indeed, shovel assembly has utility in anyenvironment where it is desired to displace relatively soft or loosematerial laterally or from one vertical level to another.

As a result of this invention, an improved scoop shovel assembly isprovided for removing or displacing material in an improved andefficient manner by utilizing centrifugal forces to effect discharge ofthe shovel contents. The scoop shovel assembly can be readily attachedto existing equipment, such as the well known garden type tractor, tofacilitate the performance of relatively small but arduous tasksconfronting the average homeowner.

A preferred embodiment of this invention having been disclosed andillustrated in detail, it is to be understood that this has been done byway of illustration only.

I claim:

1. A scoop shovel comprising: an arm mounted for rotation about a shaftextending generally normal to said arm; a shovel having a bottom wall;means supporting said shovel adjacent one end of said arm; meansmounting said bottom wall on said supporting means for pivotal movementinto an open and closed position; means carried by said arm for latchingsaid bottom wall in a closed position; and means for disabling saidlatching means at a predetermined point in the path of travel of theshovel during rotation thereof whereby said bottom wall is free to swinginto said open position under the influence of centrifugal forces.

2. A scoop shovel according to claim 1 wherein said latching meanscomprises an elongated resilient member mounted at one end on said armand biased toward said shovel, the other end of said member having meansengaging said bottom wall to maintain the latter closed.

3. A scoop shovel according to claim 1 including means for maintainingsaid latching means disabled until said bottom wall is returned to itsclosed position.

4. A shovel assembly comprising: means supporting a rotatable shaft; anarm mounted on said shaft and ex tending radially thereof in oppositedirections generally normal to said shaft; means at each opposite end ofsaid arm for supporting a shovel; each shovel having a bottom wall;means mounting said bottom wall on said shovel support means for pivotalmovement into an open and closed position; means carried by said arm forlatching said bottom wall of each shovel in a closed position; and meansfor disabling each of said latching means during rotation of itsassociated shovel at a predetermined point in the path of travel thereofwhereby the associated bottom wall is free to swing into said openposition by centrifugal forces.

5. A scoop shovel comprising: an arm mounted for rotation about a shaftextending generally normal to said arm; a shovel having a bottom wall;means supporting said shovel adjacent one end of said arm; meansmounting said bottom wall on said supporting means for pivotal movementinto an open and closed position; means carried by said arm for latchingsaid bottom wall in a closed position; means for disabling said latchingmeans at a predetermined point in the path of travel of the shovelduring rotation thereof whereby said bottom wall is free to swing intosaid open position under the influence of centrifugal forces; saidlatching means comprising an elonga ed resilient member mounted at oneend on said arm and biased toward said shovel; the other end of saidmember having means engaging said bottom wall to maintain the latterclosed; means for supporting said shaft; said disabling means comprisinga cam mounted on said shaft support means; a pivotable member carried bysaid arm and having a cam follower engagable with said cam; and means onsaid pivotable member engagable with said resilient member for urgingthe latter away from said shovel to disengage said bottom wall engagingmeans.

6. A scoop shovel according to claim 5 wherein said cam has a generallyarcuate configuration and a pair of cam surfaces of different radii.

7. A scoop shovel according to claim 1 including means for adjustingsaid cam relative to said shaft supporting means.

8. A scoop shovel comprising: an arm mounted for rotation about a shaftextending generally normal to said arm; a shovel having a bottom wall;means supporting said shovel adjacent one end of said arm; meansmounting said bottom wall on said supporting means for pivotal movementinto an open and closed position; means carried by said arm for latchingsaid bottom wall in a closed position; means for disabling said latchingmeans at a predetermined point in the path of travel of the shovelduring rotation thereof whereby said bottom wall is free to swing intosaid open position under the influence of centrifugal forces; means formaintaining said latching means disabled until said bottom wall isreturned to its closed position; said maintaining means comprising arotatable shaft mounted on said shovel and having a pair of projectionsat opposite ends thereof normally disposed in a retracted position andpivotable into an extended position by centrifugal forces upondisablement of said latching means whereby one of said projections isengagable with said latching means to maintain the latter disabled priorto the return of said bottom wall to its closed position.

9. A scoop shovel according to claim 8 wherein the other of saidprojections is engagable by said bottom wall upon the return of thelatter to its closing position to retract said projections and disengagesaid one projection from said latching means.

1. A scoop shovel comprising: an arm mounted for rotation about a shaftextending generally normal to said arm; a shovel having a bottom wall;means supporting said shovel adjacent one end of said arm; meansmounting said bottom wall on said supporting means for pivotal movementinto an open and closed position; means carried by said arm for latchingsaid bottom wall in a closed position; and means for disabling saidlatching means at a predetermined point in the path of travel of theshovel during rotation thereof whereby said bottom wall is free to swinginto said open position under the influence of centrifugal forces.
 2. Ascoop shovel according to claim 1 wherein said latching means comprisesan elongated resilient member mounted at one end on said arm and biasedtoward said shovel, the other end of said member having means engagingsaid bottom wall to maintain the latter closed.
 3. A scoop shovelaccording to claim 1 including means for maintaining said latching meansdisabled until said bottom wall is returned to its closed position.
 4. Ashovel assembly comprising: means supporting a rotatable shaft; an armmounted on said shaft and extending radially thereof in oppositedirections generally normal to said shaft; means at each opposite end ofsaid arm for supporting a shovel; each shovel having a bottom wall;means mounting said bottom wall on said shovel support means for pivotalmovement into an open and closed position; means carried by said arm forlatching said bottom wall of each shovel in a closed position; and meansfor disabling each of said latching means during rotation of itsassociated shovel at a predetermined point in the path of travel thereofwhereby the associated bottom wall is free to swing into said openposition by centrifugal forces.
 5. A scoop shovel comprising: an armmounted for rotation about a shaft extending generally normal to saidarm; a shovel having a bottom wall; means supporting said shoveladjacent one end of said arm; means mounting said bottom wall on saidsupporting means for pivotal movement into an open and closed position;means carried by said arm for latching said bottom wall in a closedposition; means for disabling said latching means at a predeterminedpoint in the path of travel of the shovel during rotation thereofwhereby said bottom wall is free to swing into said open position underthe influence of centrifugal forces; said latching means comprising anelongated resilient member mounted at one end on said arm and biasedtoward said shovel; the other end of said member having means engagingsaid bottom wall to maintain the latter closed; means for supportingsaid shaft; said disabling means comprising a cam mounted on said shaftsupport means; a pivotable member carried by said arm and having a camfollower engagable with said cam; and means on said pivotable memberengagable with said resilient member for urging the latter away fromsaid shovel to disengage said bottom wall engaging means.
 6. A scoopshovel according to claim 5 wherein said cam has a generally arcuateconfiguration and a pair of cam surfaces of different radii.
 7. A scoopshovel according to claim 1 including means for adjusting said camrelative to said shaft supporting means.
 8. A scoop shovel comprising:an arm mounted for rotation about a shaft extending generally normal tosaid arm; a shovel having a bottom wall; means supporting said shoveladjacent one end of said arm; means mounting said bottom wall on saidsupporting means for pivotal movement into an open and closed position;means carried by said arm for latching said bottom wall in a closedposition; means for disabling said latching means at a predeterminedpoint in the path of travel of the shovel during rotation thereofwhereby said bottom wall is free to swing into said open position underthe influence of centrifugal forces; means for maintaining said latchingmeans disabled until said bottom wall is returned to its closedposition; said maintaining means comprising a rotatable shaft mounted onsaid shovel and having a pair of projections at opposite ends thereofnormally disposed in a retracted position and pivotable into an extendedposition by centrifugal forces upon disablement of said latching meanswhereby one of said projections is engagable with said latching means tomaintain the latter disabled prior to the return of said bottom wall toits closed position.
 9. A scoop shovel according to claim 8 wherein theother of said projections is engagable by said bottom wall upon thereturn of the latter to its closing position to retract said projectionsand disengage said one projection from said latching means.